Blood Quantum

Three people stand in court of law accused of exceeding the speed limit. One is an African American male, the other is a Jewish male, the third is a White female. Each, was deemed to be traveling well in excess of the allowed limit. Should they all suffer the same penalty? Or, should their degree of guilt and the corresponding punishment be assessed according to their skin color, religion or sex—or even their sexual preference?Most rational people would probably conclude that the question of guilt or innocence should have nothing to do with any of these categories. The only question should be; did they drive too fast? Maybe, there were extenuating circumstances, such as, driving a dying friend to the hospital. Maybe, they were fleeing a madman trying to kill them. If so, their circumstances could be a factor. But, if there are no extenuating circumstances, most of us believe they should be treated equally before the law. And the reason why should be obvious.If people are not treated equally before the law, we give enormous power to judges to decide who is guilty or innocent, with only their individual wisdom as the final standard of justice. The law, under those circumstances, would be nothing more than a guideline, a series of suggestions. It would be the judge alone who is the final arbiter of truth. This is what happens when there is no external standard greater than the individual's opinion. When this happens, we stop being a nation of laws and become a nation of men, with judges and politicians ruling as kings by divine right. Who, then, will have the power to question the king's wisdom?Increasingly, people seem to believe that because America has always been riddled with bigotry (which nation hasn't) we should simply acknowledge that blind justice is an illusion and get on with the business of recognizing our bigotry as immutable—and, apportion justice accordingly. Collective guilt by association will be the new way to judge individual cases, including guilt or innocence. It will be justice by quota. Black, White, Muslim, Jew, male, female, Gay and Straight, will be subdivided yet again into various sub-groups with bureaucrats measuring degrees of blood quantum or group affiliation as a way of determining who benefits and who doesn't.As ridiculous as this sounds, that is the reality in some Native American cultures where blood quantum determines who benefits by the sale of non-taxable cigarettes and legal gambling, both of which can be very lucrative. History, unfortunately, reminds us just how quickly people can descend back into tribalism, even when they've co-existed side by side for generations without incident—which was the case in the recent Rwandan genocide or genocide in the Balkans.​Reasonable people should conclude, then, that the failure of human nature should not result in giving even greater power to our leaders who are accountable only to their own beliefs. In fact, the idea of a government that rules over the people like a king is anathema to democracy and freedom.​James Madison said “If men were angels, there would be no need for government.” Jesus, speaking nearly two thousand years earlier said “Whoever among you desires to lead, must first become your servant.” These are the cornerstones of American society. It is government as servant, not government as ruler, with Americans united as a single people and bound by a common code, that is the American way. Imperfectly realized, maybe, because people are woefully imperfect. The code, however, is about as perfectly realized as is humanly possible. And that needs to be remembered.